


Going North

by misura



Category: Van Helsing (2004)
Genre: Community: smallfandomfest, Huddling For Warmth, M/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-20
Updated: 2013-05-20
Packaged: 2017-12-20 09:45:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/885801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misura/pseuds/misura
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>"Cold, isn't it?" Carl said, sounding sleepy.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>"It usually is, around these parts."</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Going North

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ArtAngst](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=ArtAngst).



> prompt: _Van Helsing/Carl, Scandinavia_

There was, Van Helsing decided, a definite air of _something_ manifesting in the room on the heels of his announcement that he was here to pick up Carl for another assignment in the field.

"Did you blow something up again?"

Carl looked miffed. "It's called 'scientific progress'. And yes, it may come with the occasional flash of light and loud bang, but such is the way of it."

"Right." Van Helsing recalled several occasions where a 'flash of light and loud bang' had saved his life.

On the other hand, there was a time and a place for things like that, and a busy workroom full of monks and scientists probably qualified as neither.

"At least I didn't ruin any priceless works of art," Carl said, right before Van Helsing had come up with a tactful way to put his thoughts into words. "They say it took Da Vinci three years, you know. Just add a brushstroke here, a bit of color there, until at last, he was content. His masterpiece."

"It was an accident."

"Yes, well." Carl tossed some items into a bag. None of them exploded. "That's my point, you see? With you, it's always accidents and priceless works of art. Whereas with me - "

"Scientific progress," Van Helsing said. "Gotcha."

"Quite," Carl said, barely dodging getting hit over the head by one of his colleagues who was too busy watching ... something or another to watch where he was swinging his bundle of poles. Or possibly not.

"Hope you packed some warm clothes," Van Helsing. "We're headed up north."

Carl blinked at him owlishly. "Are you sure? I could swear I heard - "

"Then I guess you heard wrong."

 

Scandinavia.

Once home to the fearful Viking raiders, now home to ... well.

"Elves," Van Helsing said. They'd made camp in a part of the forest that seemed to have slightly fewer trees in it than all the other parts they'd seen so far. It couldn't really be called a 'clearing', but he'd figured it was as close as they were going to get.

Carl scowled. "Ridiculous. Everyone knows there's no such thing as elves."

"Vampires, boogeymen and werewolves are real enough."

"Vampires, boogeymen and werewolves are scientific fact," Carl said, and Van Helsing considered mentioning this to them the next time he ran into one. He didn't think it would go over well, but then, they generally tried to kill him on sight anyway.

To be fair, he did the same thing to them. "Elves aren't?"

"No," Carl said. "Of course not."

"Slim stature, pointed ears, eyes like a cat's - "

Carl scoffed. "Faerie tale stuff."

"So what's that standing right behind you, then?"

Three months down in the lab had either honed Carl's reflexes, or he'd been working on them on the sly. He wasn't as quick as Van Helsing would have been - he'd never be that quick, but still. A very decent reaction time, all in all.

"Not funny," Carl said. "Damn it."

Van Helsing laughed.

 

It was different, traveling with Carl. No longer being alone all the time.

Overall, Van Helsing would have to say he liked it. He felt less like a loner, a hunter just waiting to go bad, to become as much of a monster as the creatures he hunted. (Never mind that he'd never really considered things in that light, never really felt that way until Transylvania.)

"Cold, isn't it?" Carl said, sounding sleepy.

"It usually is, around these parts."

"Yes. I rather suppose it is."

Van Helsing considered. "Can't sleep?" In theory, Carl was due to keep watch in about thirty minutes. In practice, Van Helsing planned to grab a blanket and doze for a bit, letting Carl get what sleep he could.

The local wildlife knew better than to get near humans, and if anything else was around, Van Helsing's special senses hadn't picked up on it so far.

"It's my toes," Carl said, sounding almost apologetic.

"Just your toes?"

"I'm wearing special underwear," Carl said. "Very new. Very experimental. It seems to work pretty well."

"Hm. Might be nice to get some." Van Helsing never felt particularly bothered by either heat or cold. Still, there was a difference between not feeling something and not being affected by something.

"I'd need to take your measurements."

Carl had seen him naked before. Probably. "Yeah." Or possibly not, given how the idea seemed to be affecting him at the moment. "You could make some socks out of the stuff, too."

"Tricky," Carl said.

"I could come over there to warm you up a bit," Van Helsing offered. "Maybe rub your feet. Nothing too sinful, just two friends, keeping warm on the road."

Carl snored.

Van Helsing wondered if he should take that as a sign of divine intervention - he'd have expected something a good deal more serious by way of expressing divine disapproval, though. So.

Just your typical bad luck, then.

 

Or maybe not.

"Can't you - just - shoot - it?" Carl was breathing rather more heavily than Van Helsing would have liked.

On the other hand, he was keeping up, achieving a quite respectable speed. Fast enough to stay ahead of the bear, at any rate, which was (Van Helsing risked a quick glance backwards) not at all interested in pursuit, anyway. Instead, it seemed intent on taking a bath in roughly the same spot Carl had picked as a good spot for it.

(Silly idea, actually. Much more likely, it was here to fish or something like that. Simply cross the stream, perhaps, to get to the other side. Maybe there was a Mrs Bear waiting for it there.)

"It's not evil," he said.

"We had - pig - for - dinner."

"I didn't kill the pig," Van Helsing said. "I think we can stop running now."

Carl leaned against a tree, face flushed, still breathing hard. Also: wet and naked. (So probably a good thing he was a bit overheated at the moment; he'd cool off soon enough.)

"You got spare clothes in your backpack, right?"

Carl paled. "My thermal underwear! I need to - "

There was the sound of a loud roar and, at a much lower volume, something getting torn apart.

"I guess it didn't fit."

Carl shot him a look that came very close to being unfriendly.

Van Helsing decided not to take it personal.

 

"This is nice," Carl said, snuggling a bit closer.

Van Helsing supposed he should be glad things hadn't gotten awkward - he'd worried about that, a bit. Worried that, when push came to shove, Carl would prefer freezing to death over getting up, close and naked with a good friend.

There was, he supposed, a slight sense of awkwardness. It just wasn't being experienced by Carl.

"Actually, this is getting quite close to sodomy."

"I'm not a priest," Carl said. "I'm only a friar. I'm allowed."

Van Helsing wriggled around a bit. It didn't really improve the situation. "I think sodomy's a bit more of a general 'thou shallt not' sort of thing."

"Who's the priest around here?"

"As you just pointed out - " Van Helsing started, then decided that, really, what was the point? "Never mind. Forget I said anything. Toes feeling all right?"

"Perfect," Carl said.

"You're right. This is nice."

"Do you know what would be even nicer?"

"How's this?"

"Ah."


End file.
